Forging a Fated: Trin

[Polyclept]

First and foremost, I'd like to direct you to my awesome friend and Fatemaster bowchickawowers! She's running a second campaign for our band of ruffians--the brave soul--and we couldn't do it without her. Thanks for letting us throw all your plans out the window, FM!

 

TO MY FELLOW PCs: SPOILER ALERT IN BIG BOLD LETTERS!!!

Those whom I play beside are welcome to read this topic, but MUST NOT READ THE SPOILER TEXT on any of the following posts. It'll ruin the experience for yourselves and for me. I want to share my creation with the rest of the community, so please just be on your best behavior. Otherwise, enjoy the awkward beauty that is Trin:

 

My papers say Trinity Jacobson, but I just go by Trin these days—my folks were big into mystic hokum and I’d rather not be reminded every time someone calls my name. Momma was a busking cartomancer, and Papa would pick her customers. I grew up around the stuff, so I know it’s all a bunch of rot. See, Momma had a different deck for each type of customer: the money men, adventure types, working folk, the ones looking for a bit of harmless entertainment, and even a special deck for the skeptics. She'd sand the edges of certain cards so that the deck would cut to them reliably, or coat them in a slight gloss so they'd get picked more often. All that trickery and she still managed to convince herself it was real. She’d cast lots too, but only for the regulars—they didn't need the tricks anymore. 

 

Papa was good at reading people, so he’d work the crowd and signal Momma which decks to use. He’d chat them up at the table too—give Momma something to work with. Momma was known for her fortune telling, but every once in a while during some particularly awful upset, Papa’d get a fit and spout off a bunch of bunk of his own all out of nowhere. Happened when the Red Star fell, and when the Piper’s Plague broke out, and again when the Great Quake tore up what was left of the slums. Momma thought he was gifted, but he was probably just in his cups like everyone else when something awful happened.

 

There was just one time Papa had a fit for no good reason, and that was on my ninth birthday. We’d finished our supper (a fine one that night!) and Momma and I were playing Stacks. Papa was bringing over some coffee for dessert, but all of a sudden his eyes rolled back in his head and he started shaking like he did. Dropped the coffee all on himself too.

 

That night I got a terrible fever, and started having fits of my own. One of Momma’s regulars was a fancy doctor, and he said it was meningitis and moved us all to the quarantine zone where Papa got sick and died. Losing Papa broke Momma about the same way the fever broke me.

 

Now I don’t remember Papa’s fit all too well, or the next couple months of my recovery, for that matter. What he said that night haunted Momma, and she used to tell me over and over like it was some nightmarish nursery rhyme:

 

If you beware oblivion’s hand
your every breath will be as your last,
and you will be repaid thrice for the sins you have sold.
The song will end beyond the thrice knocked wall,
and you will die.

And you will die.

And you will die.

 

Momma always said only those that know their fate can change it…but I don’t believe in fate to begin with.

[Polyclept]

So here’s the scoop: Trin’s crossroads tarot flipped BOTH jokers. (I’ve got the screenshot to prove it, since we run our game online.) The number three came up twice in her destiny so I added a little repetition to round it out, gave her the name Trinity, and stuck a bow on it.

 

Crossroads Tarot:  Red Joker, 3 , 1 , Black Joker, 9  

 

Station: Neverborn Stolen (Counter-Spelling)

Open Spoiler

THIS was the event that triggered her Papa’s spontaneous divination: she had come under attack from Doppelgangers! Plural!!! (The number three is at play again here.) Her illness was a byproduct of the process, seizures and all. Sure, she recovered, but the effects of the assault would be lasting. When you first meet her, you just get this sense that something’s a little…off. If you talk to her though, you’ll find that she’s actually quite smart and very clever. Of course, there’s no telling if she’s the real deal or just one of the copies, and nobody knows to suspect in the first place! The FM’s going to have fun with this one, and she informed me that even I don’t know if my character is the original or not.

 

Starting Physical Aspects:

 -1 Might

+2 Grace

+1 Speed

 -1 Resillience

 

Starting Mental Aspects:

+2 Intellect (added one of my modification points here)

 -3 Charm

+2 Cunning (added the other here)

+1 Tenacity

 

Root Skill AV(Ranks):

5(3) Notice

3(2) Centering (she’s been through a lot)

2(1) Counter-Spelling (side effect of the "illness")

3(1) Prestidigitation (side effect of having hippy parents)

3(1) Literacy

2(1) Evade

 

Endeavor Skill AV(Ranks):

5(3) Gambling (Momma’s other hobby)

4(2) Scrutiny (Papa’s forte)

4(2) Deceive

4(2) Pistol (helps keep the bullies at bay)

 

Derived Aspects:

4 Defense (using Counter-Spelling for Evade produces the same value)

5 Willpower (Counter-Spelling is actually worse than Centering in this case)

5 Walk

5 Charge

4 Wounds

4 Initiative

 

Starting Pursuit: Wastrel (Educated)

Some call it fate, others say she’s blessed.  From surviving a mortal illness as a child to winning every night at Stacks, Trin is just inexplicably lucky at most things—of course, she’d just shrug and say she pays attention. Personally, it cracks me up having a character with this particular backstory reject the idea of destiny, fate, and luck. The Wastrel pursuit was just calling to me. She’ll stumble onto a Grimoire at some point and eventually pick up some ranks in Dabbler (which will capitalize on some of her Root Skills), but even then she'll probably downplay the mysticism aspect. For her, the reality of magic simply doesn't indicate the reality of fate.

 

General Talent: Great Fate

Was there any other choice?

 

Equipment:

Trin was recently accused of cheating at Stacks in one of the downtown gambling houses. It was a false accusation, but everyone piled on the bandwagon because let’s face it, there’s just something off about that girl. With thugs hunting her down, Trin had to flee Malifaux and lay low for a while. She cashed out whatever she could on short notice, left some for her mother (whom she’d been supporting), and used the rest to purchase safe passage to a town a few days out of Malifaux.

 

Functional Items:

Collier Navy Revolver (her Papa’s, and she’s actually pretty good with it)

Professional Gaming Kit (decks, dice, counters, and reference sheets for most common gambling games)

Personal Effects:

Wardrobe (some decent clothes, one nice dress, and a travelling outfit)

[Polyclept]

Quick update on character development:

 

Trin is continuing down the Wastrel pursuit, despite having yet to place a bet of any conventional sort--she's still getting a feel for her new home, looking for good opportunities and sizing up the competition. She's also learned how easy it can be to apply cold logic in social interactions to great effect, but has consequently become more suspicious that others may be manipulating such interactions as well.

 

 

Pursuit Talent: Luck of the Draw

 

Learned Skill AV(Ranks):

4(2) Convince

 

General Talent: Cynic

[Polyclept]

Thanks and props to my buddy Light_Rain for taking over GMing this campaign. Here's the latest in Trin's world:

 

An NPC we're working with asked Trin to give her some gaming tips, and one of her companions has been learning how to gamble by studying her table play, so she's learning to share her natural talents. She finally got some funds together to improve her gear and battle readiness, and seems to be on her way back up to the standard of living she used to enjoy.

 

Wastrel Pursuit Talent: Cards Up a Sleeve

Learned Skill AV(Ranks):

3(1) Barter

Equipment:

Brigandine, custom tailored

Custom Grip and Action: Collier Navy Revolver

 

Trin recently found a grimoire, or rather it found her. It came in the form of a deck of cards...specifically one of her mother's design that had been gifted to her on her ninth birthday, and which was later destroyed in a fire. Trin was appropriately spooked, but couldn't help her fascination, so now she's exploring the Dabbler pursuit. To top it all off, she's completed her first Fate Step: "If you beware oblivion's hand..."

 

Improved Mental Aspect:

+2 Tenacity

Magic Theory: Tradition Magic (Counter-Spelling over Harness Soulstone)

Current Magia:

Prestidigitation: Parlor Trick

Prestidigitation: Conjuring (set to her Focus Object)

Current Immuto:

Alteration: Delay

Augmentation: Selective Targeting

Alteration: Focus Object (specific card in her grimoire deck)

Dabbler Pursuit Talent: Arcane Musings

General Talent: Specialized Skill: Prestidigitation (   )

Improved Skill AV(Ranks):

5(3) Centering

[Polyclept]

We just wrapped up our campaign arc with Trin and friends. Here's the final product: Trin's character sheet.

 

Thanks for tuning in!